Pike County was formed in 1822 from the Western portion of Monroe County. Formation Maps can be found here. Originally, the county seat was set up near Riley Crossroads, in the newly created town of Newnan. However, when Upson County was formed in 1825 from the lower portion of Pike County and part of Crawford County, the county seat of Newnan was too far from the center of the county. Soon the town of Zebulon was laid out and in November 1825 the legislature permanently set Zebulon as the county seat.

In 1851 the most Northern part of the county was given to Spalding County. The boundaries of Pike County remained unchanged from 1851 until 1920, when some of the eastern portion of Pike County became part of the newly formed Lamar County.

Pike County and the town of Zebulon were named after Zebulon Montgomery Pike, noted soldier and explorer. Zebulon was born January 5, 1779 in Lamberton, New Jersey to Major Zebulon Pike and Isabella Brown. As a soldier and explorer he traveled large portions of the American West, made an unsuccessful attempt to reach the summit of the peak that bears his name, and died during the attack on York (now Toronto), Canada on April 27, 1813 during the war with Great Britain.

Other towns in Pike County at this time are: Concord, Meansville, Hollonville, Lifsey Springs, Williamson, and Molena.

The Pike County courthouse in Zebulon has civil court and land records from 1823. Tax records are available 1825-59 and 1864-72.